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| July 25, 2006 | |
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| Info Update
In Focus
ABC's of Reading Pertinent Participant Info Chatterbox
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The Director's CornerDear FOR-PD Participant: I enjoyed meeting many of our collaborators at the Just Read, Florida! Leadership Conference. I had the chance to catch up with old friends and make many new friends. I would like to briefly share with you information about our three presentations at the Leadership Conference. The first presentation showed the tremendous impact reading professional development is having on instruction in Florida schools. The second presentation was for secondary reading coaches and all of the wonderful resources available at their fingertips through FOR-PD. Finally, we did the same presentation, but for elementary reading coaches. You can each of these presentations on the FOR-PD website at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/presentations/. FOR-PD is also gearing up for CAR-PD (Content Area Reading Professional Development). Our writing team is currently reviewing each of the lessons to make the connections between the research and adolescent literacy/content literacy even stronger. We are including the latest research and providing classroom applications. The classroom applications are primarily lesson plans which show how the research fits into instruction. This new content will be launched in the fall of 2006. We hope that our newsletter assists you in meeting your literacy and professional development needs. This month, the Reading Strategy of the Month focuses on summarization. Summarization is a hard strategy for many students to learn. I encourage you to check out the Reading Strategy as it provides useful tools for teaching summarization to your students. Our literacy newsletter's focus for July is on information literacy. More and more students are graduating from high school severely lacking the literacy skills necessary for success in college or the work place according to a recent report published by the American College Testing, Inc. (2006). As these students enter college many struggle with the complex text they must read. This is mirrored in a survey administered by the Center for Workforce Preparation (2002). Results from this survey showed that 38 percent of job applicants taking entry-level tests lacked the literacy skills needed for the job. We need look no further than our very own FCAT and how our students do on the Reference Research cluster of this assessment. The Reference Research section measures the ability of our students to locate, organize, interpret, synthesize and evaluate information. Many students, K-12, struggle with interpreting, synthesizing, and evaluating information from multiple sources. I hope that you take the time to read the information presented in our In Focus section this month. Information Literacy, as defined by the National Forum on Information Literacy, is the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand. Information literacy is the basis of life long learning. According the Information Literacy Competency Standards (American Library Association, 2006), an information literate individual is able to:
For our students to become competitive employees or students after graduating from high school, they must develop these skills. Please check out the information presented this month. Thank you for allowing FOR-PD to serve you in your professional literacy needs. We enjoy our work, services, and audiences, and we continue to look for ways to better serve the state of Florida in its literacy efforts. Please let us know how we can better support you and help you grow professionally. Thank you again, for all of your work. Please free to contact me in case you have any questions or comments. You may reach me at cc@orion.itrc.ucf.edu and/or 1-407-207-7294.
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Open Registration Begins - July 10, 2006 |
| Open Registration Closes - August 14, 2006 | |
| Fall Courses Begin - August 28, 2006 | |
| Fall Courses End - December 4, 2006 |
Please note that we are extending the fall Open Registration period for a week. Instead of closing August 7th, registration will now close August 14th. The start day for fall Open Enrollement courses has been changed to August 28 with the course ending on December 4.
Teachers wishing to register for fall courses will be able to do so from our registration site: http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/register/register.html. The registration link is available now!!
e-Store Now Reopened
FOR-PD is once again offering the following materials to Florida educators. To get any of these items for your school or classroom, fill out the form located on the E-store page and FOR-PD will mail you the items free of charge, while supplies last.
FOR-PD Flyer - The flyer for the Florida Online Reading Professional Development online course
FOR-PD Brochure - The brochure for the FOR-PD online course
Instructional Posters - These posters are designed to assist teachers during reading instruction. FOR-PD suggests that teachers laminate these posters and use them during instruction to model various reading strategies. After instruction, teachers can post them in their room as a reference for students.
Check out the new e-store page for more details! http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/publications/estore.html
Florida Literacy Coaches Association
Have you heard?? Florida now has its own Literacy Coaches Association. This organization was formed through a collaborative effort of the Just Read, Florida! office and a select group of literacy coaches from around the state. The mission of this new organization is to support literacy coaches in their various roles within Florida schools. 
"Uniting literacy coaches to support and advocate for the literacy needs of all stakeholders in schools across Florida."
To find out more about this organization and to become a member, please check out their website http://www.justreadflorida.com/FLCA/. Facilitators can also contact Brian Dorman, a FOR-PD facilitator and the first president of the Florida Literacy Coaches Association.
Guinness Book of World Records Read Aloud
Florida's middle school students have a lot to celebrate. This year, 223,000 more students are reading on grade level compared to 2001, and improvements in middle school reading tripled that of any previous single year gain. Additionally, there has been a renewed focus on reading at the middle school level and great participation in the Department's "Shoot for the Stars: A Record-Breaking Year for Middle Schools" initiative.
Earlier this week at the Just Read, Florida! Conference, Commissioner John Winn announced that we will be leading Florida's middle grades students in breaking a Guinness World Record as the latest in our "Shoot for the Stars" projects. We invite you to join us as we make history.
The current record for Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously at Multiple Locations was set in 2004 by 155,528 students in the United Kingdom. To date, over 203,000 Florida middle schoolers in 291 schools have signed on to break the record.
The record-breaking event is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, September 28, 2006. A formal announcement will go out next month that will include the time of the event and the excerpt of text that will be used for the read aloud.
Holidays,
Happenings, & Events
| FOR-PD Open Enrollment Registration - Fall Courses Run: August 28, 2006 to December 4, 2006 |
July 10, 2006 - August 14, 2006 |
| NCTE - Literacies for All Summer Institute "Redefining Literacies: Expanding Our Vision of What is Possible" Charlotte, NC |
July 13-16, 2006 |
| The Tampa Bay Area Writing Project Fall Conference "The Tampa Bay Area Writing Project and YOU!" Tampa, FL University of South Florida |
September 30, 2006 |
| Florida Council Teachers of English "Saving Students with Literature and Laughter" Orlando, FL Renaissance Orlando Hotel |
October 12-14, 2006 |
25th Southeast Regional Conference |
October 15-17, 2006 |
| Florida Reading Association Annual Fall Conference "Take Reading to Heart!" Orlando, FL Wyndham Orlando Resort |
October 19-22, 2006 |
Florida Association for Media in Education |
November 1-3, 2006 |
Information Literacy
This month's Literacy Newsletter focuses on collaboration between teachers and library media specialist with specific emphasis on information literacy. The American Library Association (ALA) (1998) considers information literacy to be the "ability to find and use information" (p. 1). And, according to the Final Report of the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (1989), the information literate person is, "able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively" (p. 1). Although taught by the collaborative team of a teacher and library media specialist, it is important to note that information literacy should not be seen as just the instruction of research skills. In fact, as noted by Linda Langford (1998) in her article Information Literacy: A Clarification, "it is not library skills, nor is it computer skills, nor even information problem-solving skills, but all of these are necessary enhancers of information literacy". In fact, it is when these enhancers are combined with metacognition skills, critical thinking instruction, organizational skills, and inquiry based on authentic interests, that information literacy becomes a highly effective approach to learning and literacy.
It easy to understand why information literacy is needed as today's students are bombarded with information from a variety of places including the Internet, their teachers, textbooks, and trade books. The ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources, and within a variety of learning communities, is an important part to being considered literate in the new millennium. It should also be noted that to be truly information literate, students must go beyond what they are told they must learn and grow to be active investigators in their own learning (ALA, 1998). Organization of knowledge and the understanding of how to use information should, as well, should be considered when describing an information literate person (Taylor, 2006).
Standards in Information Literacy
Library media specialist, teachers, and researchers have written many articles and books on how and why instruction of information literacy should occur in order to ensure that students are prepared for life in the 21st century (ALA, 1998; Taylor, 2006; Doiron & Asselin, 2005). In 1998 the ALA offered Information Power, a look at how Teacher-Librarians can collaborate with classroom teachers and students to create opportunities for student learning within the realms of information literacy. Within this text the ALA created a list of nine information literacy standards (1998):
Information Literacy Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively. Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively. |
Independent Learning Standard 4: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests. Standard 5: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information. Standard 6: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation. |
Social Responsibility Standard 7: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society. Standard 8: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology. Standard 9: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information. |
Working through Collaboration
Helping students meet information literacy standards is a clear goal of library media specialists across the nation. It is also becoming quite important for teachers to engage in the planning and implementation of information literacy, as many state assessments require students to think critically in a variety of areas. Having teachers and library media specialist work together in collaboration has become vital for the success of information literacy. If information literacy is taught in isolation, students will often not retain the skills, and are not as motivated to use skills in other areas outside of the media center (Taylor, 2006).
In order to increase understanding of information literacy, library media specialist should be offering professional development inservices to the teachers and staff on the standards and process. Teachers should prepare to learn new information and begin considering how information literacy can benefit their learners. Teachers should question what areas of need they have in their current instruction in this realm of information literacy. They should not see information literacy as something else to add on to a lesson; it should be integrated into the lessons and into the curriculum.
Collaboration between teacher and library media specialist should be arranged to consider how to integrate information literacy standards into the curriculum. A discussion should occur on what kind of background information and experiences students should have in order to be successful with information literacy. Teachers and library media specialist should consider current instructional strategies already being implemented. A curriculum map may be needed to identify what is being taught, by whom, and when. This will help identify overlapping topics and foster curriculum cohesiveness.
Reading Instruction and Information Literacy
The relationship between reading instruction and information literacy is evident through research. The National Reading Panel (NRP) (2000) found that "readers derive meaning from text when they engage in intentional, problem solving, thinking processes" (p. 17). Information literacy can be seen as a problem solving process where a student may struggle if unable to apply reading strategies and skills (Lee, 2005). Students in the upper grades, and in content areas, can benefit from learning specific strategies that both enhances comprehension and prepares students for information literacy instruction.
Key Reading Strategies that Enable Information Literacy
Questioning
Questioning is an extremely valuable strategy for improving comprehension and engagement. Asking and answering questions are considered the foundations of problem solving, a major component of information literacy. One strategy that can lead to greater comprehension, analysis, engagement, and synthesis is the Question-Answer Relationship, also known as the QAR.
Modified QAR: FOR-PD Reading Strategy of the Month
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/strategies/stratqar.html
Summarizing
Summarizing can be highly effective for helping students identify main ideas, generalize, remove redundancy, integrate ideas, and improve memory for what is read. Summarizing can be used in both written and oral form and also with a variety of other strategies to increase comprehension. It is an especially important strategy because during information literacy instruction, students will need to address the importance of text and be able to condense it and put what it is relevant into their own words.
Summarization: FOR-PD Reading Strategy of the Month
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/strategies/stratsummarize.html
Text Structure
Discussing how text is structured can benefit a student's processing of the text. Informational text structures often follows one of the following text types: enumeration, chronological order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. Ambruster, Anderson, and Ostertag (1987) found that training students to identify text structure led to students being able to create a macrostructure and create better summaries of the text.
Text Structure: FOR-PD Reading Strategy of the Month
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/strategies/strattextstructure.html
Information Literacy Models
Creators of information literacy models offer systems to organize inquiry and research situations. These models assist teachers and media specialists in integrating learning processes and provide them the opportunity to integrate information skills within their curriculum.
Research Process |
Research Problem It is important to note that most models start the process with the objective to answer a question or resolve a problem. This is sometimes difficult for students and they may need support in choosing a question to investigate. Having students choose their own research topic is key for success in the information literacy process. After reviewing the question, a brainstorming opportunity should follow to allow students to consider their problem/question. Finding Information Students will then begin to look for information that will help them answer their questions. While many students may want to jump on the Internet, they should be guided toward thinking about what is the best place or resource to answer their question. "A student needs to know whether a question can be best answered by using an encyclopedia, an almanac, an atlas, or the Internet; by asking an expert, by reading a book, or by looking in the telephone book" (Taylor, 2006, p. 85). Students should be considerate of where their information comes from and be critical about the accuracy of the information. Extracting Information Students may need assistance in taking notes or the use of a visual graphic organizer to help them extract information from their resources. Product/Project Summarizing techniques can be very useful when preparing the information to be shared. A project or product should be considered to help students contribute to the classroom community of learning. The project can be decided in advance, but students can also benefit from creating their own. Projects should require students use critical thinking skills and to make inferences. Evaluation During this time, students should think about how the process of research worked. They should consider what they may have done differently, how they could have found new or different information. A self-evaluation may be helpful. Based on Taylor, J. (2006). Information literacy and the school media center. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. |
The following two models are a small sample of those available.
Big6: An Information (Developed by Big6 Association) |
Task definition
Info seeking strategies
Location and access
Use of info
Synthesis
Evaluation
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FINDS: Florida Research Process Model (A Product of The Florida Department of Education and The Florida SUNLINK Project) |
Focus on information need
Investigate resources to search for answer
Note and evaluate facts and ideas to answer the question
Develop information into knowledge for presentation
Score presentation and search process
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References:
American Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Association of School Librarians.
American Library Association. (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/presidential.htm
Armbruster, B. B., Anderson, T. H., & Ostertag, J. (1987). Does text structure/summarization instruction facilitate learning from expository text? Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 331-346.
Langford, L. (1998). Information literacy: A clarification. School Libraries Worldwide, 4(1), 59-72. Retrieved July 19, 2006, http://www.fno.org/oct98/clarify.html
Lee, E. (2005). Teaching reading strategies to build information literacy. In R. Doiron & M. Asselin (Eds.), Literacy, libraries, and learning (pp. 65-80). Ontario: Pembroke Publisher.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Taylor, J. (2006). Information literacy and the school media center. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Teacher and Library Media Specialist Collaboration
-Written by Julie Berlin, Graduate Research Assistant
When it comes to educating students in the way of media literacy, there is no more valuable resource for a teacher than the library media specialist. In recent years, with the implementation of No Child Left Behind (2005) and other state initiatives surrounding education curricula, collaboration between teachers and library media specialists is much needed. Collaboration, essentially, is built upon a foundation of carefully defined roles, deliberate planning, a shared vision, and mutual trust and respect. (Callison, 1999, as cited in Baskin, 2003). Collaboration fosters a cooperative partnership in which all parties have "an equal stake in the students' achievement" (Baskin, 2003). In fact, research has shown that effective collaboration between teachers and library media specialists raises tests scores, increases learning, and is absolutely necessary to meet the informational needs of students.
Working together with the library media specialist can help make the teaching experience more interesting and successful. It is important, however, to note the specific nature of the role of library media specialist in the collaborative relationship. There are some practical approaches to collaboration that can help facilitate a healthy and effective relationship with teachers. The library media specialist should be approachable and establish good rapport with teachers. He or she should be familiar with curriculum objectives, and be able to demonstrate the connections between information literacy and content-related goals. The library media specialist should basically adopt an active co-teaching role and dedicate herself to the common goal of student success (Baskin, 2003).
So, what should a teacher be aware of when working with a library media specialist? Plenty. First and foremost is the importance of the knowledge and expertise the library media specialist brings to the table. Many teachers may not be familiar with or trained in the area of information skills and research (Youssef, 2005). The library media specialist "adds a thorough understanding of information skills and methods to integrate them" which, in turn, helps teachers "broaden the use of resources and promote information literacy"(Baskin, 2003, p. 24). His or her familiarity with information skills, communally with an understanding of goals and objectives, can make the library media specialist a great complement to teachers to "build an effective navigational team" (Baskin, 2003, p. 24). Secondly, the library media specialist can be an invaluable resource in providing guidance in terms of research. The library media specialist can help teachers develop mini-presentations to help teach students about paraphrasing, citations, plagiarism, note-taking, and other integral research components (Youssef, 2005). He or she can also provide teachers with strategies to help students practice their newly-learned research skills. Many teachers note the considerable increase in student performance after the addition of the library media specialist as a collaborative team member. Teachers also observed "everyone involved learned something new" and that "working collaboratively with...the library media specialist can transform a tedious task into an exciting and memorable project" (Youssef, 2005, p. 40).
The library media specialist is also a vital part of literacy-specific goals and objectives; for example, the Reading First initiative. The purpose of this plan is to elicit a sense of togetherness on behalf of teachers as to the best way to foster student success in reading, with the common goal being to have students reading and reading well. Reading First is based upon five fundamental principles of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary development (Kindig, 2006). The library media specialist is responsible for help students connect with and think about what they are reading (Kindig, 2006), while providing specific instructional ideas to teachers that will encourage this connection. There are several common strategies the library media specialist and teachers might employ to foster information literacy:
- Booktalks: Even reluctant readers respond with interest to booktalks, and they are a great way to introduce book ideas and topics if given on a regular basis.
- Read Alouds: Used as an instructional aide, read alouds are a fairly effective tool to get students reading.
- Book Selection: The library media specialist can help students find books that match their interests, increasing the desire to read.
- Comprehension Strategies: Using comprehension strategies such as KWL (What You Know, What You Want to Know, and What you Learned) or DR-TA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (can foster creativity and critical thinking.
There is no more valuable resource than the library media specialist in the way of promoting information literacy. Teachers who seek out the library media specialist with whom to form a collaborative relationship not only improve their own professional practice, but inevitably improve the quality of education for the students they teach. In short, as Baskin (2003), asserts, "excellent teachers working in isolation can't improve student learning as much as teachers working collectively [with others]" (p. 24).
References
Baskin, K. (2003). Teacher/librarian collaboration: What the literature has to tell us. Library Media Connection, (January), 24-28.
Kindig, J. (2006). Here, there, and everywhere: Reading first in the library. Library Media Connection, (April/May), 28-30.
Youssef, J.L. (2005). Collaboration: It really does work! Library Media Connection, (August/September), 40-41.
Use Media Literacy to Prepare Students for State Assessments
-Written by Julie Berlin, Graduate Research Assistant
Recently, there has been an upward trend within the education system in utilizing technology-based instruction to supplement student learning. Today's students are more technology-savvy than ever before, so educational shifts have become sensitive to that, especially in regard to standardized state assessments. 'Media literacy' is a term that has been given much attention as of late due to its role in all state assessments. Media literacy refers to "the skills and knowledge needed to question, analyze, interpret, and evaluate media messages" (Summers, 2005, p. 20). A media literate student can critically analyze visual messages from the media around them. This includes billboards, magazines, television, movies, the Internet, and signs (Taylor, 2006). This task requires critical thinking and application skills, which should be taught by educators and then assessed using individual state standards.
Critical thinking skills are an essential, yet often overlooked element of the classroom experience. Part of a teacher's responsibility as an educator is to teach application of knowledge; not just the required content. Teaching critical thinking skills helps students generalize knowledge and make information connections outside the classroom walls. Media literacy strategies are an integral part of this process. Using a teaching approach whereby media literacy skills are permeated throughout the curriculum can help students both prepare for possible assessment items as well as apply their knowledge in other areas of life.
Incorporating media literacy into the everyday curriculum is not a difficult task. There are many ways educators can devise a lesson plan that integrates some aspect of media literacy; however, teachers and students may be better served by following a basic media literacy framework. Five essential questions should be asked of students in order to capitalize on their understanding of media message. These include:
- Who created the message?
- What is the message?
- How was the message delivered?
- What is the impact of the message on me?
- What is the impact of the message on society?
Adhering to this basic outline will enable to students to begin to "draw conclusions, make inferences, predict outcomes, and judge the worth of media messages" (Summers, 2005). These are the skills with which all students must be equipped not only to pass state assessments, but to become successful and contributory members of society.
Refereneces:
Summers, S.L. (2005). Use media literacy to prepare students for state assessments. Library Media Connection, (April/May), 20-23.
Taylor, J. (2006). Information literacy and the school media center. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Resources
National Forum on Information Literacy
http://www.infolit.org/
The authors of this site offer information on The National Forum on Information Literacy. Included are publications, definitions, reports, and information on their conferences.
Information Inquiry for Teachers
http://eduscapes.com/info/
Designed primarily as a tool for a university course at Indiana University at Indianapolis, this website is available to anyone who wants to learn more about information inquiry, teaching, and library media programs.
Information Literacy: An Overview of Design, Process and Outcomes
http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html
This site provides specific information on topics like engaging the searcher, defining the search, and locating information. Specific strategies and student outcomes are identified for each topic.
Information Power: Because Student Achievement IS the Bottom Line
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/informationpower/informationpower.htm
This site offers a variety of information on information literacy and the roles a media center and teacher in an information literacy realm. Included are specific information literacy standards for student learning, roles and responsibilities of the school library media specialist, and information on access and delivery.
FINDS: Florida Research Model
http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/finds/
The Florida Department of Education and the SUNLINK provide Florida media specialists and teachers with FINDS, the Florida Research Model.
Information Literacy for K-16 Settings
http://www.csulb.edu/~lfarmer/infolitwebstyle.htm
This site offers specific information, ideas, and websites for learning more about information literacy in the all levels of education.
The Big6
http://www.big6.com/
Interested in learning more about the Big6 model for information literacy? Then is the place to be! Included are links, information of grants, higher education, research, and lesson ideas!
Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships. ERIC Digest.
http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-2/librarians.html
This article defines collaboration and provides ideas, such as scheduling, that can benefit the collaboration relationship.
Inquiry Charts
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/strategies/stratIChart.html
One way to help students gain understanding of critical reading skills and strategies is through the use of Inquiry Charts (I-Charts). The I-Chart was developed by Hoffman as an instructional procedure that nurtures critical thinking and reading. It can be great to use during information literacy instruction.
Collaboration Form for Teacher and School Library-Media Specialist
http://cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/librarybush/LMC/LMCcollabform.html
Interested in working toward collaboration? This site provides an online form for ways to help collaboration between media specialist and teachers.
10 Classroom Approaches to Media Literacy
http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article338.html
The Center for Media offer this article on how mass media can be used in the classroom through inquiry models, integration of subjects, and with the use of critical thinking strategies.
MediaLiteracy.Com: Gateway Site for Media Literacy Education
http://www1.medialiteracy.com/home.jsp
Learn more about media literacy by taking the tour of this site as a teacher. You'll learn about how media can be integrated into your lessons.
What is Media Literacy?
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/what_is_media_literacy.cfm
Find out about media literacy, the three stages of media literacy, and a different way to look at literacy.
FOR-PD Reading Strategy of the Month 
July's Reading Strategy of the Month focuses on summarization.
Try this strategy in your classroom and then email us and tell us how it worked (forpd@mail.ucf.edu). Also, don't forget to share the strategy with your colleagues. Each month we feature an effective reading strategy, explain the rationale behind the strategy, give directions on how to use the strategy with students, present ideas for adapting the strategy to different content areas, present ideas for assessing the strategy, and of course provide a printable PDF version of the strategy. Check out our Reading Strategy Archive to see past Reading Strategies of the Month.
Books for Students
There's still time left before school starts to escape with a good summer read. Try one of these on the beach or by the pool.
Mom and Dad are Palindromes
By Mark Shulman
(Primary -Intermediate Level)
From the publisher: Bob has a problem. He's a palindrome. In fact, once he learns what a palindrome is, he starts finding palindromes everywhere: his little sis, Nan; his pup, Otto; even his Mom and Dad! It's making Bob feel like a kook. Is there no escape? Mark Shulman and Adam McCauley have joined forces to create a wonderfully visual, ridiculously clever book of wordplay. Join the hilarity. . . do your civic deed, don't let your pupils slip up, and find the over 101 palindromes hiding in the words and pictures of this zany book.
Summer is Summer
By Phillis and David Gershator
(Primary Level)
From the Publisher: What is summer? For so many children summer is lemonade and salty air, baseball and ice cream, fireflies and starry nights, and much, much more. Join four friends as they explore the outdoor world of summer and all its sensory pleasures. Phillis and David Gershator's evocative language and Sophie Blackall's imaginative pictures celebrate this fun-filled season.
Fly by Night
By Frances Hardinge
(Intermediate-Middle School Level)
From the publisher: Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.
Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger -- discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love -- words -- may be the death of her.
Fly by Night is astonishingly original, a grand feat of the imagination from a masterful new storyteller.
Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation
By Avi
(Intermediate - Middle School Level)
From the publisher: Children become cats and birds, a once-invisible young woman pieces herself back together, and the identity of a mysterious baseball mascot is uncovered--all within this eclectic collection from master storyteller Avi. By turns chilling, ethereal, and surreal, these thought-provoking tales are sure to engage anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to become someone--or something--else.
Under the Baseball Moon
By John H. Ritter
(Middle - High School Level)
From the pubisher: Andy Ramos, a free-style skateboarding trumpeter, has dreams as big as a baseball moon. Born into a family of musicians, Andy wants to take his unique fusion of Latin jazz, rock, and hip-hop straight to the top. But when he crosses paths with Glory Martinez, a softball pitcher who has Olympian dreams of her own, the mysterious fusion of their athletic and musical skills changes everything. Or is that due to the elegant, but eerie man in black?
Dairy Queen
By Catherine Gilbert Murdock
(Middle - High School Level)
From the Publisher:
When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Welcome to the summer that D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say. In Dairy Queen, an extraordinary debut novel full of humor, football, and dairy farming, Catherine Gilbert Murdock introduces one of the most likable young adult heroines to come along in quite some time.
Grandpa Schwenk was a dairy farmer, and D.J.'s ex-football coach father was one, too, until he messed up his hip moving the manure spreader. With her dad injured, her mom always at work, and her football star brothers off at college and not speaking to the rest of the family, it falls to D.J. to run the struggling farm as best she can, including the five a.m. milking of all thirty-two cows by hand.
If that wasn't enough to deal with, the Huge Family Fight over Christmas may mean she'll never see her brothers again. Dutiful D.J. takes it all in stride -- until she decides to try out for her high school football team, her best friend, Amber, starts acting strange, and she falls in love with the opposing team's quarterback, whom she just happens to be training.
Murdock's care and craft come through in every aspect of this book: the spot-on dialogue that is laugh-out-loud funny and always rings true; the stress and hard work of life on a dairy farm; the tough training, body aches, and anguish of high school football; and perhaps most important, the humor, heartache, and messiness of learning to open up to family and friends.
Professional Book Recommendations
Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies
English Language Learners Discover Their World Through Inquiry
By Brad Buhrow and Anne Upczak Garcia
From the Publisher: Brad Buhrow and Anne Garcia are primary teachers in a diverse school in Boulder, Colorado. In Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies, you will see how they blend comprehension instruction and ELL best practices to explore inquiry as a literacy pathway for English language learners.
As teachers and students engage in learning science and social studies content they also discover multiple ways to make meaning. The book is full of photographs of student artwork--including a color insert--that reveals the children's inquiry process, and demonstrates the important role of art as a sign system in ELL literacy and language acquisition.
Brad and Anne provide explicit detail on the process they use as they move step-by-step with students from personal narrative through the independent inquiry process. They also discuss use of the Gradual Release Model, authentic assessment, and bilingual identities. Appendices in Spanish and English help to round out this informative and charming resource. (Book Available from Stenhouse.)
Literacy Coach's Desk Reference, The: Processes and Perspectives for Effective Coaching
By Cathy A. Toll
From the Publisher: This indispensable guide offers current and prospective literacy coaches practical strategies for effectively meeting the day-to-day challenges of job-embedded professional development.
Cathy A. Toll, an educator with over 15 years of coaching experience, provides guidance on all aspects of literacy coaching, including:
conferencing with individual teachers
facilitating group meetings
providing demonstration lessons
providing services to the entire school
providing services to students
Toll demonstrates what effective literacy coaching looks like through key questions, theoretical and practical rationales, copy-ready masters, and vignettes of real-life coaching conversations. Appendixes on minimizing the negative impact of mandated classroom observations and separating coaching from supervising, plus an annotated bibliography, make this the ideal desk reference for coaches, supervisors, trainers, and others supporting the work of literacy coaches. (Available from NCTE.)
Talking in Class
Using Discussion to Enhance Teaching and Learning
By Thomas M. McCann, Larry R. Johannessen, Elizabeth Kahn, and Joseph M. Flanagan
From the Publisher: Experienced teachers know--and new teachers quickly learn--how challenging it is to spark and sustain effective classroom discussions. How can we avoid asking leading questions that make students try to read our minds for a "correct" answer? How can we foster meaningful, focused conversation that produces deeper insights into a specific work or topic?
Talking in Class guides readers in developing skills that promote and facilitate authentic discussion within the English language arts classroom. Speaking from their own classroom experience, the authors introduce some basic considerations for planning, managing, and evaluating large-group and small-group discussions. Examples of both instructional activities and classroom practices illustrate the ways that discussion prepares students for subsequent learning, specifically in connection to writing and to the reading and interpretation of literature. (Available from NCTE.)
Summer Course Schedule
Welcome to the FOR-PD online course! For learners to succeed in an online course, they must be able to devote time to studying, collaborate with others, and complete assignments. The FOR-PD course is no different. We expect participants to participate in the online environment, communicate with facilitators and peers, and manage time wisely. The FOR-PD course consists of 14 lessons. Participants should complete one lesson a week.
| Lesson 1 | July 10 - July 16 | Lesson 8 | Aug 28 - Sept 3 |
| Lesson 2 | July 17 - July 23 | Lesson 9 | Sept 4 - Sept 10 |
| Lesson 3 | July 24 - July 30 | Lesson 10 | Sept 11 - Sept 17 |
| Lesson 4 | July 31 - Aug 6 | Lesson 11 | Sept 18 - Sept 24 |
| Lesson 5 | Aug 7 - Aug 13 | Lesson 12 | Sept 25 - Oct 1 |
| Lesson 6 | Aug 14 - Aug 20 | Lesson 13 | Oct 2 - Oct 9 |
| Lesson 7 | Aug 21 - Aug 27 | Lesson 14 | Oct 10 - Oct 16 |
Each course is lead by an online literacy facilitator. Our facilitators are highly skilled in working in an online environment and have expert literacy knowledge. The facilitator assigned to your section is there to support both your learning and progression through the course as well as provide you with feedback on your assignments. While facilitator effectiveness is strongly related to participant success, it does not guarantee it. You the participant, have the responsibility of making sure you are successful in this online endeavor.
FOR-PD has developed a document entitled, "FOR-PD Student Expectations", which is available to each of you. This document was designed to ensure that participants are successful in completing the 14-week course. Please take time to review the Student Expectations document.
FOR-PD Help
Desk
Feeling
frustrated? Can't figure it out? Don't forget the FOR-PD Help
Desk is
available. Help
Desk hours are:
Monday through Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
The phone number is 1-866-863-READ (7323) toll free,
Florida calls only. For non-Florida calls only 407-249-4702. Technical
support is also available through AOL Instant Messenger, screen
name "forpdhelp".
If you need technical support beyond that which your facilitator or school
technology coordinator can offer, please contact the FOR-PD Technical Support
Help Desk. Please fill out the Tech Help Form or call the Help Desk. Describe your problem as completely as possible and leave your name and return phone number, and someone will get back to you.
Chat Live with the Help Desk. First, make sure that we are online. The button below will tell you whether we are online or offline. Next, click on Set Screen Name and type your name. Then, click in the light blue box below to type your message. Press Enter to send it. This requires you have Macromedia Flash installed on your computer. http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/about/technicalsupport.html
Don't forget to check out the Tutorials and Troubleshooting Guide. Both of these resources provide a wealth of information on the tools used in the course and specific technology problems past participants have had along with solutions to these problems.
Pop-up blockers continue to be the number one issue the Help Desk
deals with. If you have a pop-up blocker on your web browser,
you will not be able to access the quizzes in the course. To disable
your pop-up blocker follow these directions:
Disable Pop-Up Blocking programs
-
Move your mouse to the lower right-hand corner of your screen near the time
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Scroll your mouse over the icons listed to the left of the time
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If you notice any of the icons refer to Pop-Ups, right-click on them and click "Disable" or "Exit"
- Please note that Norton Internet Securities and McAfee Firewall need to be disabled as well.
Return to Top
Tech Chats for Summer 2006
FOR-PD Tech chats are for all participants who have questions about the technology used in the course. Please make sure you review the chat protocol.
| WHEN: August 17, 2006 TIME: 7:00pm - 8:00pm EST WHERE: General Chat for All Courses WHO: participants TOPIC: Technology Help GUEST: FOR-PD Tech Team |
WHEN: September 12, 2006 TIME: 7:30pm - 8:30pm EST WHERE: General Chat for All Courses WHO: participants TOPIC: Technology Help GUEST: FOR-PD Tech Team |
All chats are logged and posted on our web site (Chat Transcripts). Before joining one of our chats make sure you know the Chat Protocol.
Chat Protocol: Please be aware that FOR-PD uses a moderated discussion format. A moderator will keep the chat on topic and recognize question/statement requests by participants. The person who has the floor can field questions and statements from other participants, but they hold the floor until they are done. When they are done, the moderator will recognize another participant who requests the floor.
In order to make the chat flow smoothly, please use the following chat symbols and guidelines:
! The exclamation point is like raising your hand, you want to be recognized to make a statement.
# Use the pound sign to let everyone know you are done asking a question or making a statement.
.... This lets everyone know you have more to say.
-
When entering the chat, don't say hello to each other. Most chat systems inform everyone in the chat room that someone has entered the room. This will cut down on chat-message run-on.
-
Unless you have the floor, don't say anything; rather, ask to be recognized by the person who does have the floor by posting an !. This is unobtrusive and will let everyone know that you have a statement or question to make.
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When you are done talking, end your last sentence with a # symbol.
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If you specifically want to ask a question of someone or address them, type their name followed by a semicolon and then the message.
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